Chapter 7.
For once, it's NOT a cliffie!
Well, not a really, really evil one.
It just kinda stops, not really a cliffie. Unless you're just very curious and you wanna know what happens after that -ahem- incident.
I just now noticed something...
All my chapter titles have 3 words in them.
Odd.
'Ships: Kagome/Inuyasha, Sango/Miroku
Chapter Title: Time's Running Short
Chapter Teaser: With a startled yelp, much like that of a scared dog, Inuyasha jumped about a mile out of his seat. He then remembered he was sitting in Kikyo's "office" and was supposed to be listening to her, but his thoughts had been elsewhere. On a balcony of the White House, more like. Before his thoughts strayed anymore, Kikyo brought him back to earth...none too gently.
Notes: "words"- means speaking; 'words'- means thinking; italics- emphasis on words
Dedication: To my three inspirational Inuyasha writers: Rozefire, Pline, and Rogue Pryde.
Disclaimer:
I don't own Inuyasha and company,
Anymore that I own a new Mitsubishi.
Twenty million other fans can say pretty much the same,
But I can't even begin to name all their names.
So until that fateful day comes,
When Rumiko Takahashi finally succumbs,
And gives a crazed fan the Tetsusaiga-writing power,
We must continue to watch the episodes by the half hour.
wow that took me all of 3 minutes...
Chapter Seven: Time's Running Short
In a rush, Kagome ran out to her balcony to find a silver-haired, doggie- eared Romeo climbing over the rail.
Inuyasha looked at her. She looked at him, her heart pounding furiously as she stared into those golden eyes. Kagome saw the depth of those eyes, and she wanted to be a part of them; a part of his happiness. Happiness was not a common emotion for her nowadays. And, inadvertently, through quoting (or misquoting) Shakespeare with her tonight, Inuyasha had made her the happiest she had really been in weeks. Tears filled her eyes, but she was determined not to cry in front of him. Kagome made to raise a hand to her mouth to keep her from crying, and she saw those amber eyes widen ever so slightly. Then they narrowed. Instantly, she lowered her arm back to her side. But he had already caught a glimpse. In slow movements, he reached his hand forward and gently clasped her right hand in his, bringing her arm up to eye level, where he turned it over, exposing her forearm. Exposing the haphazard cuts, both healed and unhealed. Exposing her secrets, her pain, her punishments.
A look torn between confusion, concern, and even slight fear crossed his features.
"What," He began hoarsely, "What happened to your arm, wench?" He added the last word hastily.
Glaring at him, Kagome snatched her hand back (though a part of her didn't want to). "None of your business. I'm fine."
Inuyasha's eyes narrowed, and then, unmistakably flashed with anger. "Fine, wench. I don't give a damn if your arms are all scratched up. You ain't gotta tell me nothing." He turned back toward the balcony, his golden eyed hardened. 'They look like that kid from school's. The one who cut himself and bragged about it. Why the hell would Kagome cut herself? Is that even what it is?' He thought to himself.
Kagome blinked. She was all set withan excuse and was about to begin to feed him a lie about trying to escape the Secret Service by climbing over a barbed wire fence. She was about to either yell at him or tell him to leave, or both, and she stepped forward. Almost instantly,he tensed. He turned slowly around, as Kagome watched him, slightly apprehensive. "Inu-" She stopped speaking when he raised a hand and shushed her. She inched closer to him. "What is it?" She whispered.
Inuyasha said nothing. He could have sworn he smelled his half-brother...
"I better go," He said, turning back to her. A smirk came to his lips as he whispered, yet another line from the tragic play.
"Good night. Parting is such sweet sorrow..."
(everybody, all together now, "Awwww!")
Kagome smiled, and Inuyasha, satisfied, jumped down from the balcony, landing on his feet. It seemed to Kagome like a very catlike manner, and it struck her ironic that the "dog" could land on his feet. Once he had ran away and scaled the wrought iron fence, Kagome exhaled deeply. She had almost been found out.
Down below her balcony, Sesshomaru had smelled his half-breed half-brother and decided, ultimately, whether Naraku "approved" or not, to delay the assassination to when Inuyasha wasn't around her.
Little did Sesshomaru know that he would be hard-pressed to find such a time...
--One Month Later--
It had been a month since Inuyasha saw Kagome. Really saw her, anyway. He had made her smile that last night, reciting Shakespeare, but he hadn't seen her smile since then. True, there had been "smiles" but, they were a mask...he could tell when she wore a genuine smile, and he hadn't seen one since their meeting on the balcony. He had been back to the White House frequently, pretending to come to chat with Miroku, but really, wanting to catch a glimpse of Kagome. But the glimpses he caught were not of Kagome. It was her, but recently, she acquired the look of Kikyo, merely half- alive, not enjoying life. And it sickened him. To see her, once so full of life --the exact opposite of Kikyo, no matter how much they looked alike-- on what seemed to him like a constantly downward spiral towards depression. That alone made him want to examine her more closely.
"INUYASHA!" Kikyo yelled furiously, slamming her hands on the desk.
With a startled yelp, much like that of a scared dog, Inuyasha jumped about a mile out of his seat. He then remembered he was sitting in Kikyo's "office" and was supposed to be listening to her, but his thoughts had been elsewhere. On a balcony of the White House, more like. Before his thoughts strayed anymore, Kikyo brought him back to earth...none too gently.
"OW! That's ATTACHED!" He yelled as Kikyo tugged one of his furry white dog ears.
"Well then, LISTEN!" She screamed.
"I can't listen if you PULL MY EAR OFF!" He roared, tilting his head wildly in any direction in an attempt to free himself from her grasp.
"You need to get close to Kagome and you need to do it NOW!" She said loudly, yet vehemently, giving his ear one more sharp tug while releasing it.
A low, agitated growl/groan escaped him as he rubbed his ear. "Damn it Kikyo. Don't rush me! I am not like Kouga."
Halfway across the room, Kouga looked up from The Idiot's Guide to Rap Lingo. "Of course you aren't," He chided, "I'm one-of-a-kind."
"That's only because your pack was too stupid to breed, Snoop Wolfie Wolf."
"Why Inuyasha," Kouga replied, not taking his eyes off his book, "I'm flattered. Snoop Doggy Dogg is my hero."
Both Kikyo and Inuyasha rolled their eyes heavenward and sighed deeply. Then Kikyo grabbed Inuyasha's other ear, dragged him to the door and pushed him out. Fuming, but glad for an excuse to get away from the Spawn of Satan and her pink-wearing counterpart, he made his way towards the White House. All the while, wondering what this girl had done to affect him so much...
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'Damn it all.' Kagome cursed inside her mind.
She had done it again.
Another soon-to-be scar had appeared on her arm. Except this one was still bleeding, and she was staring at the blood appear in a tiny pool around the long incision. It was making her slightly light-headed. Grabbing for the Kleenex on the bathroom sink, Kagome tore a piece off and pressed it to her cut. A hiss of pain escaped her and she narrowed her eyes at her reflection, taunting herself for being so weak, she threw the tissue paper to the floor. Still glaring at her reflection as if it were her worst enemy, Kagome picked up the razor blade again. Using the corner of the blade end, she poked it into a place just below her wrist and slashed it slowly across, pressing harder into her skin as she went; making a slightly larger cut that intended out of anger. Not caring at all if she bled or not, Kagome exited the bathroom. The wind was raw against her cut, making it sting. 'I deserve it. I deserve it. I deserve it.' Kagome silently repeated to herself, clenching her teeth.
It was then Sango walked in.
"Hey Kagome." She said cheerfully, oblivious to the girl's now profusely bleeding forearm. A fake smile lit Kagome's features and she responded, "Hello Sango." She put her arms behind her back, hoping she wouldn't see. Sango raised an eyebrow, her expression playful. "Okay...what are you hiding?" Sighing, Kagome held out her left arm. Sango's expression turned grim.
Sango was silent for a moment before she asked why.
Sango (as well as Miroku) were well aware of Kagome's little "habit" and while they had tried to stop it, they couldn't really do anything about it except be there for her. Unless it got of hand. Then they would be sure to take action no matter what.
Kagome sighed, flopping down on her bed, "Naraku." She muttered darkly, "Who else? God. It's like psychological bullying. What? I watch A&E too." She replied to seeing Sango's raised eyebrows and slight smirk, despite the circumstances. She looked at the girl, who was looking very downhearted indeed. But there was something else there. Something different; some emotion she couldn't place... That's not all." Sango replied, finally figuring out what that look on Kagome's face meant, "You miss Inuyasha, don't you?"
Kagome snorted, but a pink blush was just visible on her cheeks as she replied scathingly, "How can I miss him? He's around practically every day!"
"Key word: around. He's around with Miroku. You want him around you, don't you?"
There was silence, until Kagome spoke, "Sango, can I tell you something? Girl-to-Girl?" She was wringing her hands together as she sat up on her bed, looking at Sango anxiously.
"Anything." Sango responded, smiling, "But first..." She tapered off, walking to the bathroom. She returned, the box of Kleenex in her hand. "Fix that." She said pointedly, gesturing the box towards Kagome's bleeding arm. Grabbing a tissue and wiping her arm hurriedly, she began telling Sango something she could no longer deny.
"I think I might love..."
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Miroku looked at the golden-eyed hanyou as he made his way towards him. It was about the third time this week he had come. Not that Miroku was complaining, it was nice to have another guy around besides Souta. It was just he knew Inuyasha was coming to see Kagome and was using him as an excuse.
"C'mon Inuyasha. You know you don't come here every day just to talk to me."
"Miroku," Inuyasha sighed, looking at him, his violet eyes sparkling mischievously, which could only mean bad news, "What are you getting at?"
"You like Kagome. If not love." He said matter-of-factly.
Inuyasha snorted. "Have I not made it clear that I only hang around her because I'm supposed to delve her secrets to the world?"
Eyebrow twitching, Miroku replied heatedly, "Have I not made it clear that you won't ever get around to doing it if you keep avoiding her?"
"I'm not avoiding her." Was his witty reply. "And I don't like her."
Sighing heavily, Miroku stood from his comfortable position on the couch. Inuyasha watched him with raised eyebrows as he placed one hand at his heart and had the other one outstretched as he spoke, in this deep romantic- like voice, "Romeo, Romeo. Wherefore art thou Romeo?"
'No.' Inuyasha thought as his eyes widened, 'He can't possibly know. He's messing with me. He didn't hear it, did he?'
"Fine then. If that won't convince you." Miroku's voice changed, opting for a slightly higher-pitched voice as he said, "Art thou not Inuyasha and a Hanyou?"
"Damn you Miroku! What did you do? Eavesdrop?"
"Maaaybe..."
A very funny, yet vindictive idea popped into Inuyasha's head, but was nearly sidetracked by Miroku's next comment.
"You did the famous balcony scene. So did you kiss her?"
"No." He replied vehemently, "I'll make a deal with you Miroku."
"Oh really?" Miroku seemed interested in what he had to say.
"I'll admit I love Kagome if you admit you have a thing for Sango."
Now there was a problem.
Miroku smirked. "You said loooove."
"Miroku?" Inuyasha began.
"Huh?"
"Run."
--Sango/Miroku shippers, beware the fluff--
Sango raced from Kagome's room, giddy that Kagome had entrusted her with that tiny tidbit. She had admitted it! She loved Inuyasha! She had to tell Miroku, to see if Inuyasha shared Kagome's feelings. She was so preoccupied that she ran into someone in the hallway.
She fell backward with a tiny shriek, landing hard on the linoleum.
"Oh. I am so sorry." She said, rubbing her lower back as she stood.
"No problem. So did she admit it?"
Sango looked up to see that she had ran into none other than Miroku.
"Yes! Did Inuyasha admit it?" She asked excitedly.
"Yeah. Well, sort of." Miroku said lightly. 'Don't turn red. Don't turn red.' He told himself. He prepared for Sango's questions.
"What do you mean, 'sort of'?" She demanded, hands on her hips.
"Well...um...I have to tell...you...something..." He said nervously.
Sango was bemused. She had never seen him nervous. "What, Miroku?" She asked softly, looking up at him, and lowering her hands from her waist.
Violet eyes met dark brown, almost black ones and Miroku lost all motive for being perverted.
"I, um, kinda...I can't explain, really, so don't slap me, please..." He said in a rush as Sango, still trying to figure out what he said, was caught off guard. "Wha--"
He kissed her. On the lips. Innocently. Sango broke the kiss, even though she really didn't want to.
"Are you saying what I think you're saying?" Sango asked him.
"If you think I'm saying, 'For as long as I've known you, I have been in love with you', then yes. And before you say a thing,any other girls were because I thought you didn't feel the same way. Do you?"
In response, Sango kissed him back, which Miroku took as a 'yes' and as an irresistible opening...
SMACK!
"You just had to ruin the moment, didn't you?"
"I got kissed," He replied, removing his hand from his cheek (which he was rubbing to dull the pain), and took Sango's hands in his, continuing his sentence...
"By the girl I love. For once, it was more than worth it."
(C'mon, once again, all together now, "Awwwww!")
Update coming as soon as its finished. (I'm not really sure how long this story will be. The giant, angst-ridden moment I am so carefully leading up to is in Chapter Eleven.)
Please review!
To three awesome people who reviewed last chapter:
Pline: You are so going to kill me before this is over. Yes the balcony thing I thought was too fluffy to resist.
myinuyasha04: Yes! I was SO going for original! (I keep thinking that it was this bright green, and now tis red...)
Starchaser Darknight: Must I say, first, that that's a cool pen name. Inu has to struggle to quote it...he has a bad memory, lol. But he'll have to struggle with much, much more challenging things in the future. ahem> No, I did not just give a hint. cough>